‘WE MUST DO MORE FOR HIV SUFFERERS’ PRESBYTERIAN CLERGYMAN’S PLEA
Presbyterian minister Rev Jonathan Frazer speaks in wake of HIV vote fallout
APresbyterian minister who went public to call on the church to do more to help people living with HIV says that he hopes his words will be the catalyst for others to follow.
Rev Jonathan Frazer from Garnerville Presbyterian in east Belfast hopes to help cast aside months of controversy and debate to shine new light on Presbyterianism as a compassionate, welcoming haven for those in need.
The clergyman gave an interview to the BBC after it emerged that over 1,000 people in Northern Ireland were living with HIV, with 84 new cases diagnosed in 2017 — 54% of them being men in same-sex relationships.
There was controversy earlier this year when the Presbyterian General Assembly voted to deny people in same-sex relationships the right to be full members.
The move also meant their children cannot be baptised and while Rev Frazer admitted he chose his words carefully, he maintains it was important to show the church is willing to extend a hand of welcome to people who may be going through troubled times.
He said his call comes from a personal and church relationship between Garnerville and Positive Life, an organisation caring for those living with or affected by HIV.
“There’s a family within the church whose daughter is very involved in this work and they approached me because they knew we had supported them already in some very simple, practical ways,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
“She asked if I would like to speak out because at some point the practical has to move on to something more and it has to move to the greater, to the spiritual.
“For me, with all that has happened in the Presbyterian Church in recent times, it was something I had to speak out about and be involved in.
“This is a reminder of what we were called to do, a reminder of our Christian mandate to reach out to those who are on the margins of our society.
“Our church has historically been very good at doing that, but that’s been overshadowed in recent times.”
Rev Fraser said he grew up in the church and is very proud to be a Presbyterian.
He said: “I love it and I don’t criticise it, but let’s get back to what we do best and that is loving people, not just the good Presbyterians who attend every week, but all of us.
“I think the church can be what the church was meant to be — a place of refuge, a place of hope.
“Living with HIV or being affected by HIV, life is not going to be easy for you, especially in Northern Ireland. If you’re not getting any support, if you’re struggling, then the church should be there as a place of refuge and hope.
“With HIV there’s a nosiness to it. The first thing that people want to know is how you got it and there’s a real sense that it’s a moral disease, which needs to be taken away, and that stigma and discrimination people feel because of that needs to be taken away.
“The church should be the first people to do that. We need to stand up for those who are marginalised and those who will find no support anywhere else. The local church can provide something that no other organisation can.”
While Rev Frazer admitted his words may not sit comfortably with some within the Presbyterian Church, he maintained the time has come to start rebuilding
trust. He said: “I know my comments will sound very hollow to some and again that is one of the reasons why I have to speak out.
“I think a lot of trust has been broken. A lot of people will not like the fact that I’m speaking out, both from my own church and wider afield, but if we don’t try to reform those bridges then there’s no hope.
“What are we being called to do then?
“Until we actually show that in practice that we can be that place of refuge and hope, then we can’t do anything.
“It’s up to us to take that extra step. I know I can’t force people into coming to church. I can’t force people into believing anything that I believe, but when we take that step towards each other that’s when the trust can be rebuilt.”
In the past 42 years, membership of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has fallen by 160,000. The figures, outlined in the 2018 Presbyterian Blue Book, show that in 1975 the Church had 370,000 members. Last year, the total had fallen to 210,000.
Rev Frazer said: “In society there are many myths and misunderstandings that are unfair and unhelpful, but I think our church in a hierarchy sees all with compassion and love and seeks to show that.
“We might get some of the decisions wrong when we look historically at them.
“In hindsight we might not have carried out many things in the proper way, but I think we look at all with compassion and love and empathy and with a sense of belonging. We may not show it very well at times, but we do.
“This year’s vote on same-sex relationships was passed by a majority, but not all, of the Presbyterian Church. That’s important for people to remember.
“There was a lot of debate, sincere people on both sides who felt they were upholding their biblical principles. But I think you can say we got distracted by our doctrines. We forgot about people. In the church we’re not called to think about doctrine, we’re called to think about people.
“We have many people in our church who have struggled with that vote, who have contemplated leaving the Presbyterian Church and my church, but Jesus doesn’t call the church at large, He calls us as individuals and as individuals we have to ask how can we make someone who’s living with HIV feel like they belong?
“This isn’t an attempt to kick up a bit of dust and make a point about wider Presbyterianism. It’s about keeping a focus on the support the church can be there to offer.
“There is positive support there for people and I want to see that acknowledged. The church seems to have lost that part of its voice.
“There are a lot of issues out there which we as a church can have a positive impact on.
“We need to shine a brighter light on the Presbyterian Church, be the leader of society which we have been in the past and get back to being seen as a place of compassion.”
❝ In the church we’re not called to think about doctrine, but about people